Shell construction for automobile heaters



Feb. 25, 1930.

T. H. ROBERTS 1,748,678

SHELL CONSTRUCTION FOR AUTOMOBILE HEATERS -2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 21. 1926 Feb. 25, 1930. 'r. H. ROBERTS 1,743,678

' SHELL CONSTRUCTION FOR AUTOMOBILE HEATERS I Filed Oct. 21, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheep 2 I anoeml iom 7207mm 7% fi r gkwn 014 removed;

Figure 3 1s a sectional view of the lower Patented Feb. 25,1930

"UNITED. STATES THOMAS H. aonna'rs,

0F DETROIT, MICHIGAN,

DETROIT, MICHIGAN ASSIGNOR ro ems w. xancm-or SHELL CONSTRUCTION FOB AUTOMOBILE HEATERS Application filed October 21, 1926. semi no. 143,228.

This invention relates generally to heating apparatus for motor vehicles and refers more particularly to the connections between the heater shell and the associated conduits of such apparatus. 1

The usual type .of vehicle heater shells now in use is provided with inlet and outlet ports for the passage of the exhaust gases and separate inlet and outlet conduits through which the air to be heated passes into and out of the heater shells, the air being kept out of contact with the exhaust gases, but in close proximity thereto so as to be sufiiciently heated thereby. Heretofore it has been the usual practice of manufacturers to rigidly connect the air conduits to the heater casing at the factory before installation. It has been found, however, that this proved very objectionable due to the fact that such assemblies could be installed only when the conduits cleared the standard parts of the vehicle. If, as was frequently the case, this prevented installation of the heater it necessitated the re-shaping of the conduits or the provision of specially constructed ones toavoid such standard arts. It is therefore one of the essentialo jects of the present invention to entirely overcome such objectionable features by providing air conduits that may be adjusted to various positions upon the heater shell and thereby avoid such standard parts which would ordinarily interfere with the installation of the shell.

With these and other objects in view, the

invention resides in certain novel features of construction,combinations and arrangements ,of parts as will be more fully described and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a side elevation of the heater shell, showing the air inlet and outlet conduits and the valve controlling means there,- for;

Figure of Figure 2 is a section taken on the line 2- -2 1 with the valve controlling means section of the air outlet conduit;

Figure 4 is a view of the upper section of the air outlet conduit;

Figure 5 is a plan view of the lower section of the air outlet conduit; Figure 6 is a section through Figure 1;

Figure tion between sections.

Referring now to the drawings in'which like reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views, the numeral 1 designates the shell of a motor vehicle heater'having inlet and outlet ports 2 and 3, respectively, through which the exhaust gases from the vehicle engine (not shown) pass. As shown, the shell is also provided with inlet and outlet conduits 4 and 5 through which the air passes to and from the shell, the air at all times being kept out of contact with the exhaust gases, these gases. passing through a plurality of tubes to those shown in Patent No. 1,541,821 issued June 16, 1925.

In the present instance,

line 6-45 'of 7 is a modification of the upper and lower air the conduits 4 and 5 are notdirectly attached to the shell 1 but are preferably-connected to casings 6 and the connecoutlet to be heated 11 and 12 and an the 1 tion 9 and is provided with the base portion 17, side walls 18 and 19 and the end wall 20. For attaching the conduits 4 and 5 thereto, the portions of the casings 6 and 7 opposite the end walls 13 and 20 are'preferably formed into semi-circular open portions so that when the sections 8 and 9 are secured together they will form circular openin s 21 adaptable to receive the ends of the conduits 4 and 5. For securing the upper sections 8 to the lower sections 9, each upper section has its marginal portions flared outwardly as at 22.

the shell and the casings 6 and 7.

For regulating the fiow of hot air to the body of the motor vehicle (not shown) I pro vide a valve 26 pivoted in any suitable manner within the lower section 9 of the outlet conduit 5 and so arranged that when in its raised position it will direct the air down through the opening 27 in the base 10 of the lower section 9 to the outside atmosphere. When the valve is in its lowered position it will close the opening 27 and allow an unobstructed passage of the hot air through the casing and conduits.

For controlling the valve 26 I provide a flexible wire 28 having one end thereof connected to an arm 29 of the valve and the other end secured to a handle 30 supported upon the instrument board 31. The wire 28 is preferably inclosed in a protecting casing 32. o

The method of assembling the various sections will be apparent from the following Previous to attaching the casings 6 and 7 to the shell 1, the flanges 25 of the shell project substantially perpendicular therefrom. In this position the lower sections 9 are slipped down over the flanges 25 whereupon the aforesaid flanges are peened over upon the lateral flanges 16 forming therewith the swivel connections. The upper sections 8 are then slipped down upon the corresponding lower sections 9 and secured thereto in any convenient manner, such as by welding the marginal portions 22 to the upper edge of each lower section.

In Figure 7 I have shown a modification of the means for attaching one of the upper sections 8 to the lower section 9. In this con struction the upper walls of the lower section 8 are flanged outwardly as at 33, while the lower edges of the upper section 9 are also provided with outwardly extending flanges 34 which are adapted to rest upon the flanges 33. As shown the flanges 34 are provided with return bent portions 35 which cooperate with the aforesaid flanges to enclose the flanges 33 and thereby secure the two sections 8 and 9 to each other.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that I have provided an improved construction wherein the associated conduits of the heater shell may be adjusted to various positions as may become necessary during the installation of the heater. The advantage of having a remote control for the passage of there is no possibility of the shell having bined valve casing and air outlet conduit havthrough the opening in heated air is also readily a parent in that ot air entering into the body of the vehicle when the valve is in closed position.

While it is believed from the foregoing description the nature and advantages of my invention will be readily apparent, I desire to have it understood that I do not limit myself to what is herein shown and described and that such changes may be resorted to when desired as fall within the scope of what is claimed. I

What I claim as my invention is:

1. In a vehicle heater assembly, a heater shell having a lateral opening therein, a combined valve casing and air outlet conduit having an opening in the base portion thereof adapted to register with the aforesaid opening, and a swivelled interlocking connection between said casing and shell for permitting the casing to be moved relative into different positions of adjustment.

2. In a vehicle heater assembly, a heater a lateral opening therein, a coming an opening in the base portion thereof adapted to register with the aforesaid opening, and a swivelled interlocking connection between said casing and shell at the point of communication of said openings for permitting the casing to be moved relative to the shell into different positions of adjustment.

3. A vehicle heater assembly comprising a heater shell having a lateral opening, a tube substantially parallel to the shell and having a lateral portion provided with an opening registering with the opening in the shell, a flange projecting laterally from the edges of the opening in the shell and extending the tube, said flange being provided with a portion forming a seat for the lateral portion of the tube and having another portion that overlaps the edges of the opening in'the tube and holds the seated lat- I eral portion of the tube upon the base but permits movement of the tube in a plane substantially parallel to the shell.

4. The method of swivelly connecting a heater shell to a valve casing having a base section and a cover section, including the steps of mounting the base section upon a portion of the shell,- peening a portion of the shell over a portion of the base section and providing a swivel joint therebetween, and securing the cover section upon the base section.

5. The assembly of a sectional conduit to a heater shell having a lateral opening and a flange projecting laterally from the edges of the opening, including the steps of sleeving a portion of one section of said conduit upon said flange so that said section is substantially parallel to said shell, peening the flange over the portion aforesaid of said section to connect said section to said shell and at the to the shell,

same time provide a swivel connection therebetween, and finall securing another section of the conduit to t e first mentioned section so as to conceal the swivel joint and form a glfibial in substantially parallel relation to the 7 In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

THOMAS H. ROBERTS. 

